A lyricist is a
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
who writes
lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...
(the spoken words), as opposed to a
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and def ...
, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the
melody
A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...
,
harmony
In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...
, arrangement and accompaniment.
Royalties
A lyricist's income derives from
royalties received from original songs. Royalties may range from 50 percent of the song, if it was written primarily with the composer, or less if they wrote the song in collaboration. Songs are automatically
copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
ed as soon as they are in tangible forms, such as a
recording or
sheet music
Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed Book, books or Pamphlet, pamphlets ...
. However, before a song is published or made public, its author or publisher should register it with the
Copyright Office at the United States
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
to better protect against
copyright infringement
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...
.
Collaborations
Songwriting collaborations can take different forms. Some composers and lyricists work closely together on a song, with each having an input into both words and tune. Usually a lyricist fills in the words to a tune already fully written out.
Dorothy Fields
Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote more than 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include " The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (193 ...
worked in this way. Lyricists have often added words to an established tune, as
Johnny Burke did with the
Erroll Garner jazz standard "
Misty". Some partnerships work almost totally independently, for example,
Bernie Taupin would write lyrics and hand them over to
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
, who composed the music to go with it, with minimum interaction between the two writers.
[Lloyd, Jack (May 18, 1976)]
"The silent partner of Elton John is finally speaking up"
''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. p. 15. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
The collaboration of
John Lennon and Paul McCartney is widely considered the most successful songwriting partnership in history, with their songs making up the majority of
The Beatles' catalog.
Other famous collaborations include
Leiber and Stoller,
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
lead singer
Mick Jagger with
Keith Richards, and
Richard Carpenter with
John Bettis.
Religious songwriting
In the
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...
-singing tradition, many of the popular pieces have words written to fit existing melodies. The
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...
"
What Child Is This?" had its words set to an old English folk tune that had been a lover's lament, "
Greensleeves". The English composer
Ralph Vaughan Williams set existing poems, such as those by
William Cowper and
Charles Wesley, to traditional folk tunes to create hymns, many of which he published in ''
The English Hymnal''. A different way this happened was the combination of unrelated words and tune, such as "
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...
", the
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...
of the United States, with words written by
Francis Scott Key strictly as a poem, later set to the tune of an old drinking song.
Classical music
In opera, the
librettist
A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major ...
is responsible for all text, whether spoken or sung in
recitative
Recitative (, also known by its Italian name recitativo () is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat lines ...
or
aria
In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...
.
See also
*
Singer-songwriter
*
Robert Hunter (lyricist)
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Lyrics
Mass media occupations
Occupations in music
Songwriters